The Truth Unbound
by itabitaboo
Summary: In one moment, Arthur's life expends itself. It seems that he's finally met a challenge he cannot overcome. Some would call it luck, but Merlin & Arthur know it to be fate that allows Merlin to save Arthur's skin yet again. However, this time, secrets that have perhaps been hidden for too long finally work their way into the light. There's no turning back now. Things have changed.


**A/N: **I have never written in this fandom before. Idk. I just got inspired?

**Warnings...**  
-Yaoi relationship implied. That's about it.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing about these characters.

* * *

Merlin swayed nervously on his feet. "Arthur," he whispered, his anxiety spiking. Arthur simply waved him off. Merlin glanced around their surroundings again, his axiety reaching a peak. "Arthur," he insisted.

"What?!" Arthur snapped, turning to face Merlin sharply.

Merlin looked stunned at the prince's tone. "I just..." He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Just what?" Arthur prompted.

"I just think this is a very bad idea," Merlin answered. "I think we should return to—"

"Really?" Arthur interrupted. "You, for once, want to shy away? Merlin, you must be kidding me. This is no time for questioning!"

Speechless, Merlin deflated and looked away.

"Get in position," Arthur commanded.

Merlin did as told, but hissed from his crouched position behind a bale of hay, "This is such a bad—"

Arthur silenced him with a sharp hand gesture. Another one indicated that the man they were awaiting was finally approaching the trap. At that point, Merlin became silent. He knew this man to be a sorcerer. He knew that no blade Arthur could weild would do the man any harm, but he could not tell Arthur that. For reasons he did not even want to divulge to himself, that must be kept secret. And so he tried to dissuade Arthur's intense need to seek the man out and demand a challange, but that had obviously failed. There was only one thing left to do, and that was extremely risky. Magic of this sort only had one counter. Magic. Merlin fidgeted as Arthur readied himself, sword drawn and all. More came to thought than just Arthur's position as crown prince. The bond that the two of them had built, the trials they had faced together... it all came to mind. And Merlin found it difficult to imagine living his life without Arthur in the picture.

"Arthur," he whispered sharply, but the blond sprang from his hiding spot heedlessly. "Wait!"

Merlin jumped out after his friend, but Arthur did not pause. Merlin felt that he could somehow see the moves the sorcerer was about to make, as if he could see Arthur's death moments before it came. And he realized in that instant that he could not imagine even a moment without Arthur, that there were feelings inside of him that would not make themselves scarce. Merlin could make neither head nor tails of what happened next, but a burst of white came from within him and turned that man to ashes.

The next few moments were hard for Merlin to comprehend. His eyes grew wide and all he could do was stare. For a long moment, he was stupidly silent. "F-Forgive me... sire..." finally fell from his lips, as if pleasantries would help him now. He looked from the man's remains to Arthur's face, only to see an utterly blank expression. "I know you... must be..." He trailed off, his throat having gone dry. He averted his eyes and quietly tried to finish. "You must be..." But, again, he could only trail off.

"What?" Merlin looked cautiously up at the prince's face. "I must be what?" Arthur asked.

Merlin's eyes trailed down Arthur's face, to his neck, to the cloth of his chest. "Outraged," he finished. And after a moment, he added, "Betrayed... disgusted... appaul—"

"No," Arthur interrupted. Though his tone was soft, perhaps softer than any tone he'd ever used on Merlin, it held more than enough conviction to stop Merlin's words. Merlin's eyes trailed back up to Arthur's face, though he could not quite reach the prince's eyes. Instead, he watched the man's lips as they spoke. "Merlin, no," Arthur repeated. "All that and whatever else you think I feel right now, it is wrong." Merlin stayed silent, so Arthur went on. "You cannot believe that I would betray you so?"

"And why not?" Merlin asked, somewhat more sharply than intended. But he could not help it, for the emotion was sharp. To listen to Arthur say such things was unbearable. Merlin believed Arthur to be an honest man—truly, he did—but he could not help but feel as if the king's teachings lay sewn into Arthur's heart, and that those teachings would not find exception to Merlin. "You may give trust today, but what about tomorrow? Why should you not betray your trust in me, Arthur? I am... I am a sorcerer, and you are your father's son."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arthur demanded, his tone as sharp as Merlin's had begun in.

"It means that you have an oath to follow," Merlin answered, sounding miserable. "It means you have a kingdom to protect, and you will protect it by the laws set before you."

"I will not let my father's laws touch you," Arthur promised fiercely.

"But you must," Merlin replied, his feelings making him more upset than angry by the moment. Still unable to meet Arthur's eyes, though, he continued to speak instead at the other's chest. "If ever your father demands my head, you will be obligated to obey. You will abandon me not only because it is your duty, but because you will want to, Arthur. You once said to me that a sorcerer's words cannot be trusted, and you know that the day will come when, deep down, you will cast me aside because you think of me as... a..." Merlin strayed off again, finding the thought difficult to bear.

"As a what?" Arthur probed.

"As a traitor," Merlin murmured, turning his head away. "You will not be able to abandon the ideals your father has given you, not for me."

For a long moment, Arthur was silent. But the moment did eventually pass. "You think so lowly of my loyalty?" he asked quietly. "You think that I..." He paused and placed his hand firmly on Merlin's shoulder. "Can you not even look at me, Merlin?"

Merlin simply closed his eyes and cast his head further down. No, he could not look at Arthur when accusing him of things that hurt Merlin himself to say.

"Loyalty is black and white, Merlin," Arthur went on, his grip loosening slightly. "You cannot waver in the middle of the spectrum. One is either loyal, or he is not. And when loyalties cross, a man finds out who he is." He paused and stepped closer to Merlin, asking softly, "Can you not give a man the courtesy of your eyes... as he confesses?"

Merlin felt, in that moment, that his heart had stopped. He felt paralyzed, but Arthur gently lifted his face by the chin until their eyes met. The gesture was short lived though. Once their gazes locked, the hand was gone. But Merlin's eyes stayed locked in place.

"If the day comes that I must choose between loyalties," Arthur went on, "I will prove to you then where my heart lies. For now, though, I fear I cannot convince you in any other way that I will not betray you." He paused and stepped forward even more. "You are not a traitor, Merlin. I know that to be true. You are far different from what you see in the mirror." His tone, his words, his eyes. It all touched Merlin so deeply, reaching into a place of pure trust. "You are more akin to... water." Arthur paused again, this time to simply gaze down at his companion.

At that point, Merlin found his voice enough to stammer, "H-How s-so?"

Arthur, then, employed his free hand to boldly grasp Merlin's neck in a gesture that could not be mistaken for platonic. "You have influence enough to tear me apart, like an ocean storm. And, yet, you are gentle, gentle like a hotspring that I could find ease within. You have strength enough to hold me up, like a ship at sea. Yet, you so easily slip through my fingers... time and time again."

"A-Are you... saying..." Merlin trailed off, his breath coming to him shortly at their proximity. But Arthur understood, as he always did.

"That I have thought these thoughts before? That I have felt these feelings? That I have dreamt this scene, and many others?" A soft smile graced his lips and Arthur nodded. "Yes. That is precisely what I'm saying." He moved even closer yet, so close that Merlin could feel their breath intertwine. "I am parched," Arthur whispered, his eyes falling to half-mast and Merlin's lids dropping to match.

Merlin's eyes strayed down until they reached Arthur's lips once again. He wondered how Arthur could be so steady in this moment when he himself trembled so much...

"If there is water nearby to quench me," Arthur continued, "then I pray it make itself known... before I go mad..."


End file.
